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Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) ultralight Mavic R-Sys Ultimate wheels are built with tubular carbon fiber spokes bonded to a carbon fiber hub shell and carbon fiber low-profile carbon fiber rims. Teams have been riding these wheels for years but Mavic still has yet to announce a release date

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca came from California set for conventional external cable routing so team mechanics resorted to Shimano's special tape to run the Di2 wires

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

A fi'zi:k Arione k:ium saddle is affixed to a zero-offset 3T Doric Team seatpost on Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

There's a lot going on in this area of Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca: two zip-ties holding on the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 control box, two more for the satellite shifter, and two o-rings for the Garmin Edge 500 mount. Team mechanics leave the computer heads off until the last minute citing problems with theft

Gustav Larsson's (Vacansoleil-DCM) Bianchi Oltre Superleggera is equipped with a mixed drivetrain that includes FSA cranks and chainrings, Shimano Dura-Ace derailleurs and cassette, and a gold KMC chain

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

Gustav Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM) ran a Bianchi Oltre Superleggera and shallow-profile FFWD carbon tubulars for his run at Stage 19

Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) ultralight Mavic R-Sys Ultimate wheels are built with tubular carbon fiber spokes bonded to a carbon fiber hub shell and carbon fiber low-profile carbon fiber rims. Teams have been riding these wheels for years but Mavic still has yet to announce a release date

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca came from California set for conventional external cable routing so team mechanics resorted to Shimano's special tape to run the Di2 wires

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

A fi'zi:k Arione k:ium saddle is affixed to a zero-offset 3T Doric Team seatpost on Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

There's a lot going on in this area of Ryder Hesjedal's (Garmin-Barracuda) Cervélo R5ca: two zip-ties holding on the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 control box, two more for the satellite shifter, and two o-rings for the Garmin Edge 500 mount. Team mechanics leave the computer heads off until the last minute citing problems with theft

Gustav Larsson's (Vacansoleil-DCM) Bianchi Oltre Superleggera is equipped with a mixed drivetrain that includes FSA cranks and chainrings, Shimano Dura-Ace derailleurs and cassette, and a gold KMC chain

(James Huang/BikeRadar)

Gustav Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM) ran a Bianchi Oltre Superleggera and shallow-profile FFWD carbon tubulars for his run at Stage 19

Stage 19 of this year's Giro d'Italia was brutal even by a pro rider's standards. The progressively steepening and unrelenting Passo Manghen kicked in just past the halfway point of the nearly 200km-long route and ended with two trips up the Alpe di Pampeago's 16-percent maximum grade.

Aerodynamics took a back seat to weight with all of the major contenders shaving as many grams from their machines as possible, especially from the wheels. Shallow-section tubular wheels with carbon rims was the norm with even Mavic's often-teased-but-as-yet-undelivered R-Sys Ultimate making yet another appearance, this time on the Cervélo R5ca of Ryder Hesjedal. So much weight was removed from some bikes that several riders and teams ran supplemental weights to bring their machines exactly up to code.

Lower-than-normal gearing was common as well with many riders swapping to cassettes with 27T or 28T cogs and some resorting to mid-compact or true compact chainrings, too.

We weren't able to weigh any of the bikes at the start but it's a safe bet that many of them were spot-on at 6.8kg – and if not, those riders were certainly wishing they were.